Improved composition for concrete pavements



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.EVANDER w. RANNEY', OF'NEW YORK, N. Y.

Letters Patent No. 98,522, dated January 4, 1870.

IMPROVED COMPOSITION FOR CONCRETE PAVEMENTS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all ivhom, it may conceraf.

Be it known that I, EVANDER W. RANNEY, of New York, county and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Asphaltic Pavement; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is afull and exact description thereof.

' The nature of my invention consists in a composition of broken stone or gravel, native or artificial aspha'ltum, and pine or coal-tar, mixed in such proportions as to form a pasty substance, which, when spread on a suitable foundation, and thoroughly rolled or pressed together, makes a durable yet elastic pavement for road-beds, walks, floors, roofs, and similar purposes.

To enable those skilled in 'the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its composition, and the manner of making and using the same.

I take, gravel or broken stone, six bushels; asphaltum, either native or artificial, ten. quarts; pine or coal-tar, eighteen quarts; and add, to every five hundred pounds of said composition, one pound of bichromat-e of potash.

The asphaltum and tar are put into separate ket tles and heated till they are at their greatest fluidity, which will he about the temperature ot'hoiliug water, and then they are mixed together in the above proportions, when, the native aspha'lt'is used but ifit be the artilicialasphalt, I mix them in equal parts.

'The gravel or broken stone is made pert'ecti y dry,

and heated till it is about the same temperature of the asphalt-mixture.

I then put in a pile six bushels of the hot gravel and add to it twenty-eight quarts of the asphalt-mix ture, and I thoroughly mix the compound, either by 3 hand or by machinery, till every particle of the gravel is well smearedwith theliquid.

1' then takethe mixture to the bed previously prepared for 'it,.and spread evenly over the surface while yet warm, and thoroughly roll the same with heavy rollers till the whole mass is thoroughly compacted together.

The bed or foundation may he the ordinary soil, or gravel, made hard and smooth with heavy rollers; or it may be of stone, wood, or brick,

For a road-bed orstreet-pzwemeut, with a sand or gravel'ibundation, the concrete should be five or six inches thick when finished, and he laid in not less than two layers or coats. The first layer may he of 'such material as would pass through a screen with a three-inch mesh, aml laid four inches thick, while the material tbrthesecond coat should pass through a screen with a one-and-a-half-inch mesh, and be linished about two inches thick.

When the concrete is laid on stone pavement, the gravel should pass through a screen with a mesh of one and a half inch, and he laid with one .or two 7 of the gravel; or, it it is very fine, with a large proportion of sand, it will require as much as thirty "00 thirty-four quarts to the six bushels of gravel.

The proportions of tar and asphalt will also vary somewhat with the season of the year.

,One object of the asphalt is to harden the compositiomand in very warm weather equal parts of native asphalt and tar, or two parts of artificial asphalt to one partof tar, may be used; while in very cold weather about one part of the native asphalt and two parts of theartificial asphalt may he used, with three and even four parts of tar. y

I prefer the ordinary pine-tar of commerce for my use, 'though'coahtar makes very good work, when mixed with the asphalt as above. And I have sometimes mixed the two tars in about equal parts with very good efi'ect.

When hard and durable rock can be obtained, and thoroughly crushed, and mixed with the gravel in about equal parts, I prefer it to either one entirely.

When gravel or' broken stone caimot be obtained, I use sea-shells, iron-ore, or iron-slag, or any rough, hardfddrable substance, reduced to a proper fineness, as a substitute for gravel. 7

When the weather is quite cold, it will fiicilitate the thorough packing of the concrete by using hot rollers. 3

Walks, foot-paths, and floors can be walked over as soon as finished. Carriage-roads and street-pavements may be used generally within twenty-ibur hours; but sometimes three to five days will be required to get thoroughly hardened.

' What 1 claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-+ A concrete pavement, composed of the materials and prepared and laid substantially in the manner herein described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence ottwo subscribing 

